Posting Rules
In order to maintain a civil environment VirtualR has a set of posting rules and its members are required to adhere to. The golden unwritten rule is “treat others as you yourself wish to be treated” which is really the only one you should need, but unfortunately we do not live in an ideal world.
We do not shy away from debate or strong opinions but we do require that those opinions and debates be expressed and conducted in a civil manner without insult or abuse to other members.
VirtualR has many visitors and most would find it unfavourable to have to read through post after post of tit-for-tat or bickering comments with 2 or more individuals tearing strips off each other simply because they favour a different racing sim.
We do not feel our request for a civil and pleasant environment is unreasonable and if debates are to be formed where one side disagree with the other, they can still be conducted without getting personal or trolling. A little bit of politeness goes a long way.
VirtualR wishes nothing but to promote respectful, healthy conversations and debates amongst our members that make acceptable reading for everyone else.We cannot allow the quality of the site to be degraded by the behaviour of a few individuals who are unable to post in a respectful manner. Any member who we feel, posts in a manner that negatively affects the ambience and/or good standing of VirtualR, will be issued a warning, have their post(s) removed or even banned.
We are all sim-racers here with the same hobby and passion. We number but a few in a small, niche community. We are competitive individuals by our very nature but let’s keep the fighting on the track. There is plenty of room in this world for everyone’s opinions.
With that said, here are the rules:-
VirtualR Posting Rules
To all members: In order to make your stay a pleasant and constructive experience, please, take the time to read through our posting rules. Failure to familiarise yourself with these rules will provide no defence. All members are required to adhere to these rules without exception.
1) It is required that all posts be in English.
2) Remain respectful of other members at all times. Whilst you have every right to disagree with the opinion of a fellow member, if you are going to express your own opinion, then do so in a civilised and adult manner. Do not attack, degrade, abuse or insult other members. It is possible to disagree with someone’s opinion and still be polite about it.
3) Arguing with or disrespecting a moderator or site admin, especially as the site is a public arena, will not be tolerated and brings its own obvious consequences.
4) An individual’s post may not contain :-
– aggressive behaviour
– insults
– flame-baiting (deliberately trying to start an argument or invite more negative responses)
– trolling of any kind.
– bickering or derogatory comments.
5) a: Do not post anything which is offensive, hateful, racist, sexist, discriminatory, obscene or vulgar.
b: Do not use excessive foul language (masking your profanity like ‘s**t’ or ‘f!&*’ is still the same as writing it in full if not worse as it is seen as a deliberate attempt to circumvent the keyword filter. Also we still know what you meant). If you are that angry, maybe take a break or arrange with the other party to take your argument off the site.
6) Do not post anything in violation of local or international laws (such as links to ripped content, pirated software, hacks, cracks or anything that would break copyright law)
7) Consistent off-topic posts are not allowed. It is normal that a few posts can stray off topic in any given thread but we will only allow a small amount. Keep your posts relevant to the topic at hand.
8) The administrators and moderators have the right to edit or delete posts without warning if they are seen to break any of the posting rules. Any member re-posting an edited or deleted post will serve a temporary 7-day ban.
9) a: It is not allowed to have duplicate accounts for this site (unless you have a specific reason AND prior consent from the admin).
b: Re-posting under another name or account while serving a ban will result in a very lengthy or permanent ban.
10) Members are asked to not act as “back seat moderators”. If members note an issue which contravenes something in these posting rules they are welcome to flag the post or bring it to the attention of the moderator by emailing here.
11) Members should remember this site is aimed at an audience of all ages. Posting pornographic or generally offensive text, images, links, etc. will not be tolerated.
12) If a member has been issued a written warning and continues to exhibit the same behaviour then a temporary ban is likely, the length of which will be determined on a case by case basis.
Similarly if a member continues to exhibit the same behaviour after a temporary ban the next course of action will be a far lengthier ban (again determined on a case by case basis) or permanent ban.
Q: What do I do if I get temporarily banned?
A: If you feel your ban was unjust or wish to explain your side of things, you can email the moderator here. We will try to be as reasonable as possible and take any comments you have into consideration. Failing which you will simply have to sit out your ban and not repeat the behaviour once the ban is lifted.
Q: What do I do if I am permanently banned?
A: This would usually only have happened in serious cases so your chances of reversing the decision will be slim. However, we do not like having to ban members permanently if it can be avoided so, again, we will listen to your side of things if you contact us here.
You aim would be not only to convince the moderator or admin that they made the wrong decision but also convince them that you will adhere to the posting from then on.
Footnote
We do want members to enjoy their stay on VirtualR whenever they visit and in such a competitive environment like sim-racing it is normal to find people with their own strong opinions on things that they will not waiver from. That, in itself is fine, but those people must understand that there are others like they are with different but just as strong opinions.
Conversations don’t always have to descend into a petty ‘my sim is better than your sim’ tirade. Nor does it have to be the case that only one sim can be enjoyed and not others. Most sim-racers enjoy multiple sims and don’t feel the need to express their favour of one at the expense of another.
Please try and be friendly towards each other, agree to disagree or disagree and debate in a civil way. Debates can be healthy and interesting from both sides if continued in a mature way and we would always welcome that.
Happy sim-racing everyone.
VirtualR
